Chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) based chemicals have been widely used in industry in a variety of different applications including as refrigerants, aerosol propellants, blowing agents and solvents, among others. However, certain CFCs are suspected of depleting the Earth's ozone layer. Accordingly, more environmentally friendly substitutes have been introduced as replacements for CFCs. For example, 1,1,1,3,3-pentafluoropropane (HFC-245fa) is recognized as having favorable physical properties for certain industrial applications, such as foam blowing agents and solvents, and therefore is consider to be a good substitute for the CFCs previously used for these applications. Unfortunately, the use of certain hydrofluorocarbons, including HFC-245fa, in industrial applications is now believed to contribute to the global warming. Accordingly, more environmentally friendly substitutes for hydrofluorocarbons are now being sought.
The compound 1-chloro-3,3,3-trifluoropropene, also known as HCFO-1233zd or simply 1233zd, is a candidate for replacing HFC-245fa in some applications, including uses as blowing agents and solvents. HCFO-1233zd has a cis or Z-isomer and a trans or E-isomer. Due to differences in the physical properties between these two isomers, pure 1233zd(E), pure 1233zd(Z), or certain mixtures of the two isomers may be suitable for particular applications as refrigerants, propellants, blowing agents, solvents, or for other uses.
Processes for synthesizing 1233zd are known. For example, WO 97/24307 discloses a process for preparing 1233zd via the gas-phase reaction of 1,1,1,3,3-pentachloropropane (HCC-240fa) with hydrogen fluoride (HF). However, this process produces relatively low yields of 1233zd.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,844,475 describes a catalyzed liquid phase reaction of HCC-240fa with HF to produce 1233zd in higher yields. However the presence of the fluorination catalyst promotes the formation of heavy by-products, oligomers, and tars which build up in the reactor over time and lead to catalyst dilution and catalyst deactivation, resulting in loss of productivity due to excessive downtime to remove these by-products from the reactor on a periodic basis.
Known catalytic methods for the production of 1233zd(E) from a liquid phase reaction typically suffer from low yields due to excessive heavies formation caused by the presence of the fluorination catalyst. Accordingly, there remains a need for a process for producing 1233zd(E) in high yields. This invention satisfies that need.